919-ABA.2324.26..DOC IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO. 2324 OF 2026 Gopinath Pundlik Mahale … Applicant V/s. The State of Maharashtra …. Respondent Mr. Narayan Rokade i/b Ramchandra B. Wagh, for the Applicant. Mr. S. V. Walve, APP, for the Respondent-State. CORAM: MADHAV J. JAMDAR, J. DATED: 11 SEPTEMBER 2026 PC:- 1. Heard Mr. Rokade, learned Counsel appearing for the Applicant and Mr. Walve, learned APP, for the Respondent-State. 2. By this Anticipatory Bail Application filed under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, the Applicant is seeking pre-arrest bail in connection with CR No.91 of 2026 registered with the Chandwad Police Station, Nashik Rural, for the offences punishable under Sections 318(4), 316(4) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Page 1 PPN PRACHI PRANESH NANDIWADEKAR Digitally signed by PRACHI PRANESH NANDIWADEKAR Date: 2026.09.11 21:21:56 +0530 919-ABA.2324.26..DOC 3. The prosecution case is set out in Paragraph No.2 of the Anticipatory Bail Application, which reads as under: “2. On 07/03/2026, the Complainant, Gautamkumar Javerilal Dungarwal appeared before the Respondent Police Station and stated as under: i. That he's aged 56 years does onion purchase and sale business, an authorised person for Gresh Agrotech Pvt. Ltd., Agricultural Produce Market Committee, Chandwad, ii. He resides at the above address with his family. His sons, Shubham and Naman Dungarwal, have a company named Gfresh Agrotech Pvt. Ltd., which is a company registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Through the said company, they are carrying on the business of purchase and sale of onions. They also carry on the business of purchase and sale of onions through Jay Mahavir Adat. which is in the name of the Complainant's wife. iii. For the last few years, there had been a difference in the quantity of onions purchased and sold by the said company. The work of unloading and loading the onion stock was being handled by Accused No.1, Gorakh Valmik Sathe. He had been working as a Manager for the company's transactions for the last five years. iv. In order to discuss the difference in the onion stock and the decrease in income of the company and to find measures to prevent the same, an urgent meeting of the Board of Directors of the company was held on 05/01/2026. In the said meeting, the matter was discussed and measures were decided upon. Thereafter, the persons involved in the process of purchase and sale of onions were kept under observation. v. On 31/01/2026, at about 9:30 am, when the onion auction was going on at the Agricultural Produce Page 2 PPN 919-ABA.2324.26..DOC Market Committee, Chandwad, Gfresh Agrotech Pvt. Ltd. purchased red onions through Jay Mahavir Adat. Chandwad, at the auction rate of Rs. 926/- per quintal, as per Sale Receipt No. 127710. The said onions were loaded in Pickup Vehicle No. MH 15 BJ 0199, which was being driven by Accused No.2, Akshay Sanjay Thorat. vi. The said vehicle loaded with onions was weighed at the weighing scale of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee, Chandwad, on 31/01/2026 at about 10:13 am in the name of Gfresh Agrotech Pvt. Ltd. and Weight Receipt No. 1685 was issued. vii. The said onion stock was required to be unloaded at the yard of Gfresh Agrotech Pvt. Ltd., situated near Bhairavnath Temple. However, instead of unloading the onion stock there, Accused No.2, Akshay Thorat, took the same Pickup Vehicle No. MH 15 BJ 0199 to Dhage Weighing Scale at Chandwad at about 11:02 am and got it weighed as per Weight Receipt No. 7015. viii. Thereafter, the said vehicle was taken to Chhatrapati Trading Company, Manmad Road, Chandwad Market Committee, Chandwad, belonging to Accused No.3, Gopinath Pundalik Mahale, Proprietor of Dishant Traders, who was a license holder. The onion stock was unloaded there by the Hamals and Maparis of the Market Committee. ix. Thereafter, the said Pickup Vehicle No. MH 15 BJ 0199 was again taken to Dhage Weighing Scale at about 11:37 am for MT weighing and the weight was recorded as 22.75 quintals. Thereafter, the vehicle was again taken to the Agricultural Produce Market Committee, Chandwad, for MT weighing, where the weight was recorded as 22.70 quintals and a weight receipt was obtained. The vehicle thereafter came to Gfresh Agrotech Pvt. Ltd., Chandwad. At that time, the Complainant noticed Page 3 PPN 919-ABA.2324.26..DOC that the onion stock had been misappropriated and stolen. x. At the weighing scale of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee, Chandwad, Accused No.1, Gorakh, who was working as Manager, told the Co- Manager, Rohit Shejwal, that the driver of Pickup Vehicle No. MH 15 BJ 0199, namely Accused No.2, Akshay Thorat, had suffered an injury to his leg and that the said Pickup Vehicle No. MH 15 BJ 0199 had broken down near Salim Hotel, Chandwad. xi. At about 12:00 noon, Rohit Shejwal was called and his signature was obtained. Thereafter, when the driver of the said vehicle came to the onion market for preparing the Mapari receipt for receiving payment for the unloaded onions, the Complainant asked him where the onions had been unloaded. Accused No.2, Akshay Thorat, did not give a proper answer and gave unclear replies. He was unable to explain where the onion stock had been unloaded. xii. Thereafter, the Complainant took him into confidence and made detailed inquiries with him. During the inquiry, Accused No.2 stated that the 22.70 quintals of onions purchased by Gfresh Agrotech Pvt. Ltd., Chandwad, had not been unloaded at the company's yard but had been unloaded at Chhatrapati Trading Company, Proprietor Gopinath Mahale, Manmad Road, Chandwad. xiii. Accused No.2 further stated that the said onion stock was unloaded on the instructions of Accused No.1, Gorakh Sathe. He also stated that Accused No.3, Gopinath Mahale, who was a license holder of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee, was also involved in the said act. xiv. The Mapari, Pravin Laxminarayan Joshi, kept the receipt relating to the said onion stock with himself and refused to prepare the same. Since June 2025, there had been a difference of approximately Rs.30,00,000/- in the purchase and sale of onion Page 4 PPN 919-ABA.2324.26..DOC stock. Accused No.1, Gorakh Valmik Sathe, had been working as the Manager of Gfresh Agrotech Pvt. Ltd. for the last five years. He was being paid a salary of Rs.12,000/- per month. It was also learnt that he was himself carrying on the business of purchase and sale of onions. xv. Accused No.1, Gorakh Valmik Sathe, had taken a place near Chhatrapati Trading Company on Manmad Road at Chandwad and had also purchased expensive vehicles. The Complainant suspected how the said Manager could have accumulated such property while receiving a salary of only Rs. 12,000/- per month for five years. xvi. Due to this suspicion, the Complainant kept watch on the activities and came to know about the alleged theft of the onion stock. He therefore suspected that accused No.1 was responsible for the shortage in the company's onion stock, with accused No.2, 3 and others helping him. The accused No.1 used to visit the company's yard at night and misappropriate the onion stock. xvii. The Complainant informed the Agricultural Produce Market Committee, Chandwad. A spot panchnama was conducted on 31/01/2026 at about 12:30 p.m., and a copy was given to the Complainant. xviii. Therefore, accused Nos. 1 to 3 misappropriated the onion stock belonging to Gfresh Agrotech Pvt. Ltd. between June 2025 and 31/01/2026. xix. Accordingly, on 07/03/2026, FIR bearing C.R No.91/2026 came to be registered at Chandwad Police Station, Nashik Rural for the offences punishable under Section 318(4), 316(4) & 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.” 4. Perusal of the record shows that the main allegations are against Accused No.1-Gorakh Valmik Sathe. Insofar as the Page 5 PPN 919-ABA.2324.26..DOC Applicant is concerned, the allegation is that he was purchasing the goods from Accused No.1. 5. There are no other criminal antecedents against the Applicant. 6. Thus, case is made out for grant of anticipatory bail. In view thereof, the following Order is passed: O R D E R (a) In the event of arrest of the Applicant - Gopinath Pundlik Mahale in connection with CR No.91 of 2026 registered with the Chandwad Police Station, Nashik Rural, the Applicant is directed to be released on bail on his furnishing PR Bond in the sum of Rs.50,000/- with one or two solvent sureties in the like amount. (b) The Applicant shall attend the concerned Police Station on 28th September 2026 and 29th September 2026 between 11:00 am and 02:00 pm and, thereafter, as and when called by the Investigating Officer, till filing of the Charge-sheet. Page 6 PPN 919-ABA.2324.26..DOC (c) The Applicant shall furnish his cell phone number and residential address to the Investigating Officer and shall keep the same updated, in case of any change thereto. (d) The Applicant shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat, or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade such a person from disclosing the facts to the Court or to any Police personnel. (e) The Applicant shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence and shall not contact or influence the Complainant or any witness in any manner. 7. The Anticipatory Bail Application is disposed of accordingly. [MADHAV J. JAMDAR, J.] Page 7 PPN